NOVEMBER 2020

FAMILY time
Safe Ways to Give Back
BY DANIELLE ALEXANDER
Although there’s definitely
a need for it year-round,
November seems to be the
month when my family partakes in
our annual acts of service. Because
of Covid-19, these acts will undoubtedly
look different this year than in
years past; nevertheless, whether
through the donation of goods, time,
knowledge and/or funds, there are
still plenty of opportunities for us
and others in the community to safely
give back in 2020.
Giving Goods
According to feedingamerica.org,
54 million people in America may
experience hunger because of Covid-19,
which is a 60% increase in the
number of people seeking help from
food banks. Donating to a food drive
or, if you feel comfortable, hosting
your own food drive would be a great
way to give back this year. Like many
metro Detroit churches, Our Lady of
Sorrows Church in Farmington hosts
an annual Thanksgiving Food Drive
where parishioners and students at
the school can bring in a variety of
goods to donate. Gift cards, especially
this year, are highly encouraged.
In hopes of inspiring a sense of giving
in our five-year-old daughter this
holiday season, one way I have decided
to give goods is by “Adopting a Child.”
We have received this child’s wishlist,
and my daughter and I have already
begun brainstorming what we will get
her; she is so excited to take the lead
on this. Once we complete our shopping,
I plan to take my daughter with
me to drop off the unwrapped gifts to
the child welfare agency. In addition to
individual children, entire families are
also always an option.
Giving time and knowledge, safely
Many local metro Detroit food banks
are in need of in-person volunteers
but do have strict Covid-19 precautions
in place. Distributing more
than 45 million pounds of food annually
to those in need from Wayne,
Oakland, Monroe, Livingston and
Macomb counties, Gleaners Food
Bank is one of many food banks with
volunteer opportunities for interested
community members, including
the youth. Whether at distribution
centers, through My Neighborhood
Mobile Grocery or at food pantries,
the team at Gleaners believes the
“generous donation of time and energy
is vitally important.”
Another sometimes less obvious
way to give back is to share your
knowledge. I am a former high school
English and journalism teacher, so
I could easily donate some hours of
my time to tutoring those in need. If
the student does not feel comfortable
meeting in-person right now, we could
also FaceTime or connect on Zoom.
Giving Funds
If you have the means to do so, donating
money to organizations in
need is probably the easiest, least
time-consuming and safest way to
give back this year. However, be sure
you’re passionate about the cause
you decide to support and have done
your research on the organization
ahead of time.
The Chaldean Community Foundation
is a worthy recipient that has
been working doubly hard since the
pandemic, treating concerned clients
and providing PPE for the general
public. It’s easy to give on their website:
Chaldeanfoundation.org.
My nieces love the Detroit Zoo,
so instead of purchasing more toys
for them this year for Christmas, I
adopted each of them a zoo animal.
When they open their presents on
Christmas morning, they will see an
adoption certificate, an 8x10 color
photo of the animal adopted, a fact
sheet on that animal and a gift certificate
for a plush animal from Zoofari
Market. Once the weather warms up
again, a zoo trip to visit their new
“pets” will be in the works, as well.
How community members are
planning to give back
Angela Konja of Farmington Hills said
she hopes St. Thomas in West Bloomfield
continues, “The Giving Tree,”
which is one way people of all ages can
perform a meaningful act of charity by
including someone less fortunate they
don’t know in their Christmas shopping.
“The church always has a tree
in the lobby filled with tags that say
things like ‘Pots and Pans,’ ‘Toddler
Games’ or ‘Gift Cards.’ Then, after
purchasing the item on your tag, you
bring the unwrapped gifts back, and
an organization distributes them to the
needy families,” says Konja.
Novi resident Ramy Sulaiman is
on the steering committee for The
100+ Millennials Who Care, a group
of millennials from all walks of life
and varying financial backgrounds
who are interested in supporting
the Southeast Michigan community
through philanthropy. Each
member gives $100 and one hour of
their time, four times a year. “$100
to charity doesn’t feel like you’re
making a difference, but when 100
people donate $100 at the same time,
they raise $10,000, which can make
a huge impact,” Sulaiman said.
Sterling Heights resident Nahla
Barash said she plans to continue her
yearly act of service and pay off layaway
balances at a local business: “Every
year, I pick a different store, ask
the service desk about their layaways
and pick people who have layaway
toys or kids’ clothes, so I can pay off
their balances. I can’t imagine being
the parent and telling my kids we
can’t afford it. It breaks my heart. I am
blessed and live a good life, so I share
God’s blessings with other people’s
kids. Sometimes people personally
thank me on the phone, and I can’t
help but cry. It’s a great feeling.”
Giving back may take a little
more creativity in 2020, but it is definitely
possible to, “feel good by doing
good.”
Danielle Alexander is the owner of Edify
LLC, a local tutoring, freelance writing
and editing business, as well as the
editorial coordinator for West Bloomfield
Lifestyle Magazine. She’d like to wish the
Chaldean community a safe and healthy
November. Happy Thanksgiving!
14 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2020